»We should also research the impact of the Ultimate Weapon,« Herimos suggested urgently, which got him a scolding look from Ray-Tor.
»I don’t know what you’re talking about,« Hellas responded, amiably but slightly irritated.
»He means the tachyon weapon the Atlantika used to decimate the Neo-Sapiens’ forces,« Vasina put in, trying to mediate. »The enemy must have improved and upgraded the Atlantika’s weapons as well as the tachyon drive.«
Hellas seemed surprised and replied apologetically, »Your Majesty, I have no knowledge about an ultimate tachyon weapon system on the Atlantika. There must be a misunderstanding. The Atlantika’s propulsion system is still immobilized – it was never repaired. As I said, I don’t know how the ship got to this solar system and this planet. One thing is sure: we did not fly from the terrestrial solar system to Delta Trianguli.«
Vasina frowned and knit her eyebrows. Speechless, she just looked at Hellas.
Arkroid and Lai Pi exchanged quick glances.
›Another riddle to solve!‹ Arkroid thought.
20 - The Circle of Victors
Written by Thomas Rabenstein
This is not good
Five days had passed since the mysterious octahedron left the solar system. The tension and stress had wound down and regular shift schedules were reinstated at Triton and the outer bases. Only the eerie, greenish swirl of the Dimensional Shield surrounding the solar system remained. The shield acted like a beacon, for everyone to see and detect – especially from outside the solar system.
Although the Solar Union Government had instituted a system-wide campaign to explain the Dimensional Shield, people on Earth and the colonies were still skeptical .They didn’t trust the current peaceful situation.
»I don’t like this at all!« Admiral Friedberg’s voice sounded from Nok Daralamai’s tachyon comm-unit.
Nok addressed him directly from her private quarters on Triton. She knit her eyebrows as she replied, »Are you worried about something specific or is there something up on Earth that I don’t know about?«
Friedberg smirked.
»Are you kidding me, Commander? You’d be the first to know about anything in affecting the system,« he responded chuckling, referring to Nok’s “other” occupation as the SISA chief. »Well, yes, there are some concerns about the defense shield out there in space. HQ is worried this beacon could draw other galactic civilizations to us, like flies to a pile of shit … pardon my French!«
Nok laughed out loud over Friedberg’s remark, but she knew he was correct.
»So far, everything is quiet, Admiral. We’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled. By the way: the reinforcement troops have arrived. We’re much better able to control this sector. The Dust Devil is a great help. A revamped Pulsar cruiser increases our defenses by quite a margin.«
Nok leaned back and rearranged her hair. Her long, shiny black hair reached far below her shoulders. While on duty, she never wore her hair openly but always arranged it like a small bee hive, held together by pins and long sticks. In her private quarters she relaxed and let her hair down. Some small clay figurines, a small hut with a couple of farm animals and two farmers, on the book shelve reminded her of her home as did the colorful pictures and paintings on the wall. Some of the pictures showed different Asian landscapes with mountains and meadows on which farmers tended the fields.
She enjoyed the relaxed conversation with Friedberg.
»We haven’t really made any groundbreaking advancement lately,« Friedberg continued. »I’ll sleep better when the new cruiser types go into service.«
Nok looked at him via the comm-link and sipped on her tea cup of green tea.
›He’s worried,‹ she thought. ›His hair has become white over the years, but he still looks handsome.‹
Friedberg came a bit closer to the camera, while twisting the ends of his long moustache.
»We have a small fleet with limited defense capabilities. The octahedron scared me because it proved our vulnerabilities,« Friedberg revealed in a muted voice, almost whispering. »If they’d been unfriendly there wasn’t crap we could do about it.«
Nok took another sip and placed the tea cup on the table. The way she was drinking her tea almost looked as if she were performing a small ceremony.
»You’re only seeing a military point of view, Admiral,« she replied smoothly. »We need to prepare the people on Earth and the colonies for the Great Tremor. I can only hope the Dimensional Shield is everything the Chiropters promised when the catastrophe occurs, but it won’t work against the Looter fleets. We not only need combat ships, we need time! We have to prepare, close the knowledge gap, if we want to stand up against other galactic civilizations.«
Friedberg nodded.
»I get that, Commander, but how exactly are we supposed to do it? You mean the data the octahedron left behind on Titan?«
»Most of our questions about the octahedron are still unanswered. Who sent it, and who ordered the massive data upload to the Titan base computers? Our experts are working night and day on that,« Nok admitted. »One thing is certain, though: the received data will open up possibilities our scientists never dreamed of!«
Friedberg’s face fell, and he grew very serious.
»The researchers and scientists are going crazy. They all want to fly to Titan to check out the received data, but I need them here – on Earth and on the Moon. The new cruiser program needs to be accelerated. The Fleet rearmament has the highest priority! Many of the scientists either don’t give a shit or don’t understand the importance. Some of their arguments are valid, I admit, because the information retrieved could drastically boost our defense capabilities … but I can’t send them all to Titan, at least not now!«
Nok understood Friedberg well enough. He had to look at problems from his perspective. He tried not to lose sight of the bigger picture, but he had his priorities set.
»Hmm … maybe we should rethink our position – release some of the data for research. It would be possible to transfer the data blocks via tachyon link to Earth’s larger computer systems, although Titan’s computer banks are more modern. I’m thinking about Uluru, where we arguably have the most brilliant people working.«
»It’s too early,« Friedberg countered. »How do we know we didn’t catch a Trojan virus? The data came from an unknown source. Our whole world information network would be compromised … and you know that we’re not just predicting the weather with it.«
Nok knew that the terrestrial computer networks were vital for Fleet tactical tasks, emergency contingency planning, scientific number crunching and civilian needs.
»Well, yes, Admiral,« Nok replied. »I’ll alert you if there are any changes in our current situation or any new threats, but let’s stick to our alarm plans for now.«
»I hope we’ll never have to implement them, Commander,« Friedberg nodded and ended the call.
Nok Daralamai continued looking at the blank holo for another minute, pondering. A moment later, the door chime sounded, interrupting her train of thoughts.
›The Trox liaison … I almost forgot!‹ she recalled suddenly.
A guard at the door saluted and escorted the Trox into her private suite. Slowly and respectfully the mollusk-like being crawled toward her. Nok tried to look friendly. It had been difficult for her to allow these beings to live at the base, since the relationship with the Trox had started, violently, on the wrong foot – or rather tentacle. She’d changed her mind, however, when the Trox proved to be peaceful beings once out of the influence of the Original Spark.
»Forgive me, please, but I can’t remember your name,« Nok greeted the Trox via a universal translation device.
»We know that Humans cannot easily distinguish between us,« the Trox gurgled happily. »How would you say …? Welcome to the club, we have the same problems with Humans. My name is Gork. I am the new Trox liaison,« the being introduced itself.
»Gork,« Nok repeated the name, but wondered if Gork was
male or female. She shook one of the tentacles which Gork had extended. For the time being she considered him male.
»This touching ritual is very interesting,« he remarked casually. »Humans touch each other as a form of salutation, even if they don’t like each other. We would interpret this differently.«
»How so?«
»As a prelude to mating.«
Nok smirked sourly and offered a seat cushion for the Trox. Gork took her offer and sat down, sighing.
»I appreciate your hospitality. I’m curious to know what I can do for you,« Gork replied.
The Trox almost looked like a Shwakan. The bluish skin color had changed to a whitish-gray; even the thorns at the tentacle ends had almost disappeared. Their urge to fly through the galaxy, plundering and pillaging, was gone after the Dualytes had retrieved the Original Spark.
»We’ll get to that. First let me ask you if you and your people are well,« Nok inquired. »Are your living quarters adequate?«
Gork was sliding back and forth on his seat cushion.
»We are feeling well, thank you, Commander. We appreciate your help especially the access to your computers and the laboratories. They’re not at the standards we’re used to, but the flow of information is adequate under these circumstances. We appreciate your trust. We’re especially grateful that you returned our equipment, even though it can’t be of much use to you.«
Nok Daralamai smiled mysteriously. The Trox were much farther advanced technologically than Humanity. Gork didn’t attempt to hide this fact, but wasn’t arrogant about it.
»We have a lot to learn, Gork,« Nok admitted, »but we need to catch up to the rest of the galaxy and learn quickly. Thanks to your specialists we have a jump start. You’ve provided our people some important research leads. Cooperation with the Trox has proven invaluable – we’re looking forward to more of the same.«
»Please, give Nuri Jawa our best regards. We are thankful for the sessions with her. We were able to learn many things about your species, especially your customs and rituals.«
Nok, was a bit surprised, smiled at Gork. Nuri Jawa was a young astro-psychologist, attractive and dynamic, who was conducting behavioral research on alien species. Nok had noticed that the men in the control central turning their heads at her exotic appearance. Nuri was a next generation researcher, intelligent and eager. Since contacts to alien species were not – quite – a daily occurrence, she had devoted her time to the Trox, and was mainly responsible for maintaining good relations with them.
Gork had slumped down a bit and retracted his tentacles, a sign of relaxation and expectation. He listened calmly to Nok’s remarks. He understood that Nok hadn’t called him to socialize – time was too valuable for that.
»Your people originated on the other side of the galaxy,« Nok steered the conversation in a different direction.
»Yes, Commander,« Gork replied amiably. »Unfortunately, we were separated from our ship at the tachyon portal and no longer possess the means to locate the exact location of our home-world. Our scientists have studied what little information is available without result. Even if we locate our home-world, we lack the means to return. Since we cannot operate the portal, we cannot return that way. Our ship is waiting … somewhere. Maybe the Chiropter can help us when he returns.«
Nok Daralamai looked at Gork for a moment; she understood how badly Gork and his people wanted to go home. Her question, however, had been directed at something else. She cleared her throat and searched for words; as she wanted to be completely open with the Trox.
»We can’t see through the massive galactic core to the other side of the galaxy. That also means that we can’t observe and study the phenomenon the Chiropter described. Nor have we been able to detect any secondary effects or even verify the existence of the parasite galaxy,« she explained.
Gork was slipping nervously on his seat cushion as began to understand what Nok was after.
»The hormonal changes caused by the missing Original Spark also led to amnesia,« Gork responded apologetically. »It doesn’t help that none of my people here at Triton Base have ever seen our home-world. None of us was born there.«
»Did you never visit your home-world on your travels?« Nok inquired.
»Our people were attracted by the Original Sparks and then scattered all over the galaxy,« Gork replied regretfully. »The Shwakans also belonged to one of these branches at one time!«
Nok hid her disappointment.
»Then you can tell me nothing about the current situation out there,« she concluded. »If there is really an inter-dimensional zone out there then we should be able to detect it, especially since the parasite galaxy is supposed to arrive soon.«
›Whatever that might mean …,‹ Nok thought, shivering inwardly.
»We have no more information than you have, Commander,« Gork responded. »However, if we consider the mass-migration of civilizations who used to live in this sector then the threat must be real.«
Nok nodded and sighed.
»Sorry, but I had hoped for more information. Unfortunately, the Techno-Ferry is currently not available to start another expedition. Maybe we can learn more at a later date.«
Her wrist-communicator activated with a faint beep.
»Your communicator unit is beeping,« Gork mentioned, gurgling. Trox and Shwakans had very good hearing.
Nok straightened up in her seat and frowned.
Trox and Shwakans weren’t able to understand the nuances of Human expressions. He asked worriedly, »What does that signal mean?«
»This is not good!« Nok murmured almost to herself, and jumped from her seat. »Please, come with me to the command central, we need to find out what’s going on.«
Overwhelming odds
The OIC made his report as Nok and Gork entered the command central. In the center of the room was a meter high, conical holo-projector, surrounded by smaller projectors to produce virtual control consoles. The main projector was able to produce a three-meter diameter, spherical holographic display with real time information, subdivided into sectors. The virtual consoles functioned as multitasking interfaces which their operators could program to perform whatever tasks they needed. The center part of the main holo showed a grid network of space coordinates and sectors, color coded for various purposes according to a well devised alarm and threat roster. Operators were constantly processing data routing them to different displays and control consoles.
»The neuronal computer for the outer scanning and surveillance posts reported the failure of nine satellite systems in sector 4016-SV«, reported the OIC to Nok. Seconds later, another red indicator began blinking on the holo. »… uh … make that ten!« he added. »All failed systems are located within a radius of two lightminutes. I have dispatched a Hawk squadron operating in the neighborhood to check out the surveillance systems.«
Nok Daralamai looked first at the officer then at the holo.
»That is strange, isn’t it?« she asked rhetorically. »Do we have an explanation yet? Bad weather?«
»No, Ma’am!« the scanner officer, who had overheard Nok’s question, interjected. »Current sun activity poses no threat to our satellites. Shielding can withstand the strongest solar winds or particle streams.«
»Did it hail out there?« Nok inquired with a smirk.
»There’re no large meteors in the sector, Ma’am,« the OIC quickly replied. »We can never out rule irregulars, because of the sector’s location in the Kuiper Belt.«
»It is not possible for even a meteor shower to destroy all 10 satellites. We’ve checked, though, and ruled that out,« the scanner officer responded. »Maybe it’s something to do with the Dimensional Shield? We don’t know anything about its possible side effects. It’s still an unknown to us.«
»Huh … cautious of you, but you’re right – we know next to nothing about the shield,« she mocked. »If the Shield really is playing havoc with our technology, though, it wouldn’t just happen in this particular sector … we w
ould see the effects everywhere. What were the mission parameters of these failed satellite systems?«
»Long range scanning and early warning. We utilize our most sophisticated scanners and sensors,« the OIC replied.
Nok clenched her teeth and frowned.
»Synchronize the observatory data with yours. I want to know what the photometers can tell us!« she ordered the scanner section.
Operators contacted the Triton Observatory and requested their data. It didn’t take long until the requested information was correlated with the satellite data. Minutes later, the results were spit out.
»The observatory detected photometric signatures from the target sector,« the scanner officer announced, walking over to Nok. »Normally, the satellites should’ve reported this. Four light bursts in quick succession.«
›Which means they failed before the data was transmitted!‹ Nok pondered.
»What does that mean?« Gork inquired anxiously. He turned on his axis to observe the action in the command central. This was really just a nervous motion; the optical band around his head allowed him to see 360 degrees. »What do these light bursts have to do with the satellites?«
»They could mean something or somebody has penetrated the Dimensional Shield,« Nok presumed. »We know that light bursts occur when objects are forced to leave tachyon space … in this case that could be caused by the Dimensional Shield. Looking at the data, we might be dealing with several objects. Maybe some unknown spaceships have arrived – or more octahedrons.«
»If we have detected spaceships out there, then they could be responsible for the satellite failures,« the scanner officer added. »Considering the speed with which our satellites transmit the data, they must have reacted immediately, because our sats didn’t have a chance in Hell to transmit what they detected!«
Nok took a deep breath.
»DEFCON 3 for Triton Base. All Hawk units to Ready 15! Transmit a warning to the Hawk interceptors to use caution and stay out of trouble … observe only!«
NEBULAR Collection 4 - Second Reserve: Episodes 17 - 21 Page 21